Sandy Cheeks
Spongebob Squarepants (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
Bikini Bottom is home to all sorts of interesting characters and creatures, some of which aren't actually sea life. I'm not talking about SpongeBob himself, even though he's a kitchen sponge rather than a sea sponge, but rather Sandy Cheeks, one of his best friends. For her default head, Sandy has a neutral smile, and it's not hard to tell Super7 based the likeness off of old stock art for the show. The head is spot-on and all, but the expression here is rather bland. Fortunately, she gets two extra portraits. One is a shouting expression, clearly going "HI-YA!", and the other is more episode-specific, being her "pet goldfish in a bowl" costume from "Scaredy Pants." The sculpts on the heads are great, but the paint isn't as good. There are a lot of fuzzy edges, along with a mark on the...[See More]

SpongeBob SquarePants
Spongebob Squarepants (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
There's no denying that SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most iconic characters in animation history, branching out from just another Nickelodeon cartoon to a franchise with a couple spin-offs and movies. The show has also gotten its fair share of toys over the years, a lot of which have proven to be pretty neat. The latest merchandise are Super7's Ultimates for the characters; they've already done ReAction, so this was the next step. The slip cover for the packaging has the character's face, with a painted look to it, and I prefer these figures having their own unique covers rather than being uniform. Underneath, the box carries a tiki motif, with character artwork and a bio on the back. There's no twisties or plastic ties to worry about here, and everything can be easily removed...[See More]

Brooklyn
Gargoyles (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
There's been a pretty big gap between the latest Gargoyles figures and the last one, but it's still nice to finally be getting new releases, especially when one of those is my favorite character. Brooklyn has a very nice illustration on the front of his box, lovingly painted by Emiliano Santalucia. The painting depicts him overlooking a bridge, with some very nice lighting bringing out the image. Like always, the packaging is designed with collector-friendliness in mind, with everything being easily removable from plastic trays. Keep in mind there are still plastic ties to cut out. As with everyone else in the line, Brooklyn is sculpted by Djordje Djokovic (who also did the line art for the box illustration). Brooklyn isn't as human-like in his facial features as others like Goliath,...[See More]

REX-1 (From the Files of Pizza Squad)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Part of the charm of the original TMNT cartoon was all the unique one-shot characters. Ranging from pre-existing characters established in toy form, to cool, and sometimes goofy, faces created just for the show. One of such show-specific characters is REX-1, the robotic police officer from "New York's Shiniest." I've been wanting him in figure form for a while, and NECA delivered as part of Haulathon. The singular figure releases keep up the artwork inspired by the old F.H.E. VHS tapes, and it looks really good. The mixture of this artwork and shots of the figure make for attractive packaging that draws in customers. And of course, there's a front panel that flaps open to reveal what's inside. Make sure to have your scissors on-hand, because there's a lot of those darned ties again....[See More]

Pepe the King Prawn
Muppet Show (Palisades) - Series 5
Rated 4.90 stars by RMaster007
One of the later Muppets, Pepe was introduced in the short-lived Muppets Tonight, but has since become one of the more notable characters in the franchise. Given that he's the most well-known of the Tonight Muppets, it's no surprised he was the first character from the show to get the Palisades treatment. Sculpted by Camelot Industrial Artists (with no specific person or people credited), Pepe stands 4" tall up to his hair, making him one of the smaller characters. There's no loss of detail due to his size, however, with a texture on his skin that invokes a furry look (don't think king prawns have fur), and texturing on his jacket as well. Pepe has a bug-eyed look with an open mouth, a common look for him, and his hair and antennae are made out of a softer material. As a king prawn, Pepe...[See More]

Dirk Savage and Mona Lisa
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.65 stars by RMaster007
NECA's making our turtle dreams come true with two fan-favorite one-shots in one set. Dirk Savage only appeared in one episode, season 7's "Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter!", where he was employed to hunt mutants (duh) under orders of A.J. Howard, unaware his employer was actually a mutant planning to use the captured mutants in an old-fashioned take over the world scheme. He was a pretty cool character, to say the least, what with all his traps and all, and his gear has been included with a few previous figures, meaning his arrival in the line was inevitable. I have no idea who sculpted Dirk, since there's a lot of people credited for this set, but he looks spot-on. The head is great, with a chiseled jaw and expressive open-mouth look, though his hair isn't as messy as in the show. Standing...[See More]

Dr. Julius Strangepork
Muppet Show (Palisades) - Series 4
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
PIIIIIGS IN SPAAAAAACEEEEE!!! The fourth wave of Muppet figures marked a step up for Palisades as they were no longer limited to just The Muppet Show; now they could make characters from Muppets Tonight and the movies. In correspondence with this shift in the line, the packaging changed greatly. The design went from a red curtain look to a blue color scheme, and the line was now just "Muppets." The character bio and credits on the back remained, thankfully. It also switched from a cardback to a clamshell, which aren't as easy to open (at least not without an exacto knife), but keep the contents safer. Sculpted by Camelot Industrial Artists and standing around 5" tall, Dr. Julius Strangepork has a bit of Einstein in his appearance, with hair and eyebrows made out of a soft, rubbery...[See More]

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
Muppet Show (Palisades) - Series 1
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
I've been on a Palisades kick as of late, specifically their Muppets. I've got a couple to look at, so I'll keep these reviews coming with Muppet Labs' own Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Dr. Bunsen's sculpt is done by Kathy Jeffers, and his head is round and green; like a honeydew (hence his last name). I feel they went too heavy on the green for him, but the head sculpt is very spot-on to the puppet. Bunsen wears glasses, yet has no eyes, and the glasses have a thicker frame on the figure, which helps to reduce the likeliness of them breaking. Like Kermit, his head and hands have a rough texture, and it definitely brings out some realism in his sculpt. Standing around 5" tall, Bunsen is dressed in his usual lab cost, with a vest and striped suit underneath. I'm not sure why they made his coat a...[See More]

Kermit the Frog
Muppet Show (Palisades) - Series 1
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
Ah, Palisades Toys… For its time, there wasn't any other company like it. A nice selection of licenses, great sculpts and stunning accessories, and all for good prices. Sadly, financial issues closed its door in 2006, despite them still having plenty in the pipeline. Nowadays, their figures are still pretty well-enjoyed, but none of their lines is as noteworthy as their Muppets line, thanks to a fun, varied selection of characters and exclusives along with creative accessories and playsets. I have a couple of these, so I figure I'd start the reviews with good ol' Kermit. Wait… didn't I already do a review of this guy almost four years ago? Aw, the hell with it, it's time for a new look at an old figure. The cardback has a red curtain motif matching The Muppet Show, which at first, was...[See More]

Steelwill
SilverHawks (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.10 stars by RMaster007
Like me, you've probably never heard of Silverhawks until Super7 announced they got the license. I wasn't too enticed at first, but I got interested in the designs, and checked out the show; it's pretty good. A little over a year later, we finally saw the release of the line: with wave two coming before wave one. Super7 really can't get their release windows straight, can they? We all know the usual Ultimates packaging - a trapezoidal box with slip cover. The slip cover is simple, with the Silverhawks emblem on the front of a shiny silver color. The box underneath is a starry blue, with the back having an illustration of the character and a bio. The only thing needed to remove from the plastic tray is a tie holding in the figure, and everything's easy to get out. Steelwill's face has...[See More]